EU response to Indonesia
earthquake

Following the earthquake that struck Indonesia near the Javanese city
of Yogyakarta on Saturday, 27 May, the EU immediately mobilised to assess needs
and offer help. In Brussels, the coordination machinery has been active drawing
together the Austrian Presidency of the EU, the European Commission's
Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) and the Monitoring and Information Centre
(MIC), and the EU Situation Centre and Civil-Military Cell of the EU Military
Staff.

The EU through the European Commission was the first donor to offer relief
funding on the day of the disaster. €3 million was announced on the
27th and formally committed on the 28th by the
Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department. Agencies to which funds are being
allocated include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Télécoms
Sans Frontières (TSF) and Médecins du Monde France (MDM-F).

The Ambassador of the Austrian Presidency has been on the spot since the
incident and has provided initial reporting and assessment to Vienna and
Brussels.

ECHO also immediately dispatched field experts based in Djakarta and Bangkok
for needs assessments. Four experts are now in the earthquake zone, working in
close cooperation with IFRC and UN agencies, contributing to aid coordination on
the ground.

The European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), which
coordinates civil protection, has sent civil protection assessment and
coordination experts to the site of the earthquake to assess the needs for
assistance, particularly medical assistance.

The Head of the Aceh Monitoring Mission sent an SOS medical team to
Jogyakarta on 29 May, with a second team on standby.

The Civil-Mil Cell in the EU Military Staff has been working with the defence
authorities of Member States to identify the scope to use military assets to
support the relief effort, for example using military-owned or chartered
aircraft and ships to send supplies for the earthquake victims.

A number of Member States have offered material and practical support through
the community mechanism for civil protection. According to the latest reports to
the MIC, so far Austria is offering 200 tents and 5000 blankets; Bulgaria is
offering 8.5 tonnes of tents and blankets as well as medical supplies; France
has sent an assessment and evaluation team, a medical team and 4.5 tonnes of
medical material and supplies; Italy has sent 25 tonnes of supplies including
tents, first-aid kits, kitchen sets, sanitary materials, pumps and electricity
generators; Malta will provide 15 to 20 tonnes of blankets, foodstuffs and
water; Slovakia is ready to ship 20 tonnes of blankets, tents, clothing and
medical sedans; Poland is offering a staffed field hospital; Spain has
despatched 10 tonnes of tents, blankets, warm clothes, body bags and medical
devices.

A number of Member States are offering financial assistance: Germany and
Ireland are each offering €500,000; the Netherlands €1 million and
the UK £3 million.